Health Canada also says that it will no longer approve claims that homeopathic remedies can treat cold and flu in children — unless there is scientific evidence to support the assertions.

Over the last decade or so, the regulator has certified 8,500 homeopathic products of all sorts, while admitting they “are not supported by scientific evidence.”

Health Canada posted notice of the new rules with little fanfare late Friday afternoon, the eve of a long weekend.

‘Homeopathy has no legitimacy. It’s a scientifically bankrupt idea and it should not be promoted in any way’

Reaction to the changes was mixed in the science-based health-care world Tuesday, as some lauded the government for taking a positive step, others saying the changes only underscore the folly of approving homeopathic preparations at all.

“It’s a joke, is what it is,” said Prof. Joe Schwarcz, head of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. “Homeopathy has no legitimacy. It’s a scientifically bankrupt idea and it should not be promoted in any way.”

Health Canada ought to ban nosodes completely because, while they may be harmless in and of themselves, they contribute to people rejecting actual immunization, he said.

Schwarcz also voiced bewilderment that the government is now requiring scientific evidence for claims that homeopathy provides relief of cough, cold and flu symptoms in children 12 and under — but not adults.

“Does this mean that if you’re over the age of 12, it’s OK to make false claims? … To me, this is just not logical.”

Representatives of two national homeopathy organizations could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chuck Stoody

Health Canada says the labeling changes must come in effect by July 2016.

In an emailed response to questions delivered late Tuesday night, a spokeswoman said the new policy was developed because of concerns the current information on homeopathic products may not allow consumers to make informed choices, leaving the impression the claims are based on scientific studies.

Homeopathy is a philosophy based on what its believers call “like cures like,” meaning that a disease can be treated by providing a little of a substance that creates similar symptoms. Remedies are typically microscopic amounts of an active ingredient, diluted massively.

Health Canada has been approving them as part of its controversial natural-health product system, relying on evidence from homeopathy’s own textbooks, despite the lack of scientific foundation.

Nosodes are a type of homeopathic solutions promoted by natural-health practitioners and anti-vaccine advocates as an alternative to vaccines. Indeed, five per cent of parents surveyed by the Public Health Agency of Canada said they strongly believed homeopathy and other alternative care makes immunization unnecessary.

The new Health Canada rules require labels to now state nosodes are not vaccines or vaccine alternatives, have not been proven to prevent infection, and that Health Canada does not recommend their use in children.

Public health leaders in all the provinces and territories had called for such action and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, said on Tuesday it was a shift in the right direction.

But nosodes should really be removed from the market altogether, he said.

“There is a real potential that people will, under the belief they’re getting some benefit from nosodes, not receive regular vaccination,” said Strang. “That is potentially harmful to individuals and to others as well.”

The Canadian Pediatric Society had also urged Health Canada to change labeling for nosodes, and applauded the move.

Actually banning the products would probably be a long and arduous process, fraught with legal challenges, said Dr. Michael Rieder, drug-safety chair for the Canadian Pediatric Society.

The next step should involve educating health-care providers and the public about the lack of evidence that nosodes work, and the benefits of immunization, he said.

“We have some vaccine phobia and that’s unfortunate, but we have to deal with it,” said Dr. Rieder, a pediatrics professor at Western University.